


GRIM

by oohosh



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Buzzfeed Unsolved References, Fluff and Angst, Johnny is oblivious, Like seriously a slow burn, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Ten is a demon and Johnny is a ghost hunter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28500822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oohosh/pseuds/oohosh
Summary: Sometimes Ten wished his first life chose death instead of the grim life involving everything corruption, manipulation, and death. However, there were the perks to the afterlife.Ten is a demon currently living their 5th life in the 21st century, as humanity has grown fascinated with the supernatural it would only be his best decision to keep away from accidentally revealing his abilities. However, Johnny Suh is the token human that the demon finds himself guarding (though he doesn't like using that word) until a secret is revealed about the human's soul.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	GRIM

Sometimes Ten wished his first life chose death instead of the grim life of everything revolving corruption, manipulation, and death. However, there were the perks to the afterlife.

_20XX_

The 21st century was everything progressive, there were smartphones, TVs, watches that were touchscreen, and even programs where you could order food to come to you. Ten loved the 21st century more than any of his previous lives. Currently, the demon is within his fifth cycle and twenty-two years into the cycle as well. There was a lot of misconception about demons and their properties, initially, they hadn’t had a title and they simply were a group of _Trespassers_ from mortal life that promises service in exchange for immortality. Or a version of it. 

Cycles were lifespans and in each cycle, you had a different set of _duties_ as Ten would call them. Humans didn’t necessarily have the shtick about sins completely off but there were some truth and some corrections that could be made. For one, as demons, they simply embraced the event of sinning. If a demon were in the first cycle of immortal life they would embrace the sin of Pride. Pride, Greed, Wrath, and ongoing in the correct order till you cycled back to the first. In the fifth cycle, Ten’s duties concerned Lust. His favorite so far of the cycles to embrace since he wasn’t one to gatekeep something as fascinating from humans. 

In relation to duties, if a human sins there is no eternal burn in a fantasy place called Hell but simply a set amount of service within the after realm. One could think of it as community service for areas that are considered sacred for humans or nature. After passing, a human will be tallied for the number of sins they’ve committed depending on their degrees and be tasked to guard said locations from iors. _Iors,_ are not the same thing as demons. The term iors is a spin-off of the Latin translation for Devil being _Daemoniorum_ (again big difference between iors and demons). Iors have the ability to manipulate humans in a possession way to commit the highest degrees of unauthorized sins which include events such as murder. 

Demons don’t like to joke about souls as they are sacred to the cycle of life and the afterlife. Iors on the other hand have ignored their original duties as demons for so long that they evolve into aggressive entities that crave the sensations through human possession. 

Ten hated iors and would kill each one he came across in his cycles of life. 

Though, now it was within Ten’s duties to simply monitor first-life demons and continue his own duties. As simple as they may sound, it’s extremely difficult to do so while also protecting a human in the process. 

“Ten, I’m picking something off on the motion sensor cameras!” a hand wrapped around the shorter’s forearm before pulling down. Ten snapped back into the present and glanced at the screen, squinting at nothing which the bounty hunter beside him was getting ecstatic over. 

Johnny Suh. 

Currently enrolled in the University of California, Los Angeles in film and a minor in graphic design. With a concerning interest in being a complete nerd with the supernatural. To be more specific, Johnny filmed a show on YouTube that regarded the supernatural and it was a continuous activity to investigate “spiritually active” areas in the Southern California radius. Sometimes they would take trips. 

Ten was devastated the first day he meant the nerdy giant as if something snapped within him to become an observer of the human. But that was a different conversation. 

Ten squinted at the screen and brought a finger to swipe aimlessly before looking curiously at the pad. “I think you just saw some dust on the screen.” his voice whispered before glancing at where the warm fingers pressed softly around his forearm still. Johnny desperately tried to find the previous “thing” he saw before sighing with a release of his grip. “I promise there was something, we should go check it out with the spirit box.” 

Johnny reached into his bag, pulling out a portable camera and the mentioned spirit box that they would use. If other demons could see the older, they’d probably laugh at Ten but with rooted concern for his safety. As one would assume, that demons don’t _hang out_ with mortals especially in settings that could trip their cover. However, through the cycles, Ten has gained his title through the ranks which obviously grants him more abilities within his life. This includes the tool of shielding their absence in the soul. 

The two strolled down the dark hallway, Ten using a flashlight to point aimlessly in front of them while Johnny talked to the camera and explained what they’d be doing. They were currently in an abandoned high school that was last operated in the early 1900s and now an empty lot. There hadn’t been any entity interference with Ten yet, though he suspected there were at least two _Watchers_ within the building. 

Johnny glanced at his friend, smiling eagerly as he handed Ten the camera (which he complied) before fiddling with the device in his hands. The younger’s lips curled into a small smile and made sure the camera focused on the taller leaning against a wall- flashlight between teeth pointing at his hands where they desperately looked for the switches and cords to connect to his recorder. 

“Don’t you think if a ghost were here that they would come for us right now while you're vulnerable?” Ten teased which caused Johnny to rush the process. 

“No, don’t say that when they could be _listening!_ ” a loud noise began buzzing which signaled Ten to mentally check his stability. The technique focused on metal stability that kept your conscious monologue from blending with the waves emitting from the box. Spirit boxes had the ability to hack into amateur demons and _Watchers’_ thoughts and announce them for the human ear to comprehend. 

“You’re right, they’ll let us know in advance through your spirit box. Like an RSVP for a party!” Ten walked a little ahead of the two, making conversation while his eyes peered through the rooms for anything off. 

**“ _Older.”_ **

“Older?” Johnny peered at the spirit box as he stopped in his tracks. Ten spun around and saw a shadow looming a bit behind Johnny. Its silhouette was lean and weak through the obvious shine breaking through from the flashlight. 

“Hm.” Ten tilted his head, still looking at the shadow. _Older? Does that mean you know how to treat your superiors?_ The demon’s facial expression grew cold, knowing that if he pushed just enough energy that the entity would feel his title. 

“What are you looking at?” Johnny turned around, noticing the spray paint on the wall of some obscure drawing. His expression turned scrunched and Johnny glanced back at Ten with knitted eyebrows. 

“You don’t have to act like there’s something bad _actually_ behind me to scare me.” Johnny walked to match where Ten was now returning the eye-contract from. The two shared a chuckle before continuing to walk through the rest of the halls. Ten didn’t look back to where he felt the nerving stares coming from. 

“I could’ve been drinking you know?” Ten huffed as he watched the older set up three flashlights in the middle of the room to perform a conversation. “Parting at Lucifer knows where and maybe talking to some cool people.” 

“Are you saying that ghost hunting with me is lamer than that?” Johnny responded in an all-too-knowing tone which made Ten roll his eyes. 

“No, this is cooler.” The demon fell short of his attempt to swoon his friend to leave this location. Ten always reminded Johnny to invite him to places like this, even if it were the middle of the night. Once there was an incident where Johnny hadn’t invited him and went with another younger friend of his, Ten practically had a heart attack thinking about what could happen if he wasn’t there. 

It wasn’t that Ten drove the entities away. But being on your 2nd fifth cycle meant business in the afterlife. The demon rightfully had a title that was to be respected by other entities no matter the circumstance. Rule of superiority, you always respect your elders. 

The incident hadn’t ended badly, just meant Johnny got a bit more spooked than usual. Ten made sure to check Johnny’s resistance while his roommate slept. 

Sensations pulled through his skin, and an all-too-familiar feeling waved cold and created goosebumps across Ten’s nape. For a moment he could’ve sworn to sense a present beyond the shadows in front of Johnny. Ten stepped forward as Johnny peered into a random hallway beside them, taking a lead and establishing a distance between the shadows and human. 

Malicious was not laced into the atmosphere but it wasn’t a welcoming force either, a lingering tension felt best. Ten tilted his head, noticing the energy grow heavier before rolling his eyes. 

“Hey ghouls, come out and play,” Ten bantered with a focused stare out into the hall. “I’m just a regular short guy who wants to get possessed, come on ghosts.” 

“Ten stop, you’re going to make them mad?” 

“Mad?” Ten almost wanted to mock his friend but stepped closer into the dark. “Who says the ghosts aren’t scared of me? You know what?”

He straightened himself and raked through his hair, “I’ll challenge you ghosts. I’m not scared of nothin’.” 

Johnny sighed behind the other, mumbling about how he doesn’t want anything to do with possession. The comment made Ten smile but he continued maintaining eye contact with the now distinguished shadow in front of them. Noticeable to only those with abilities and entities. 

_There you are Watche-_

“Oh my God, what the fuck is that?” Johnny’s voice cracked and Ten quickly looked behind him to only notice his friend staring in the same previous direction of the demon. Ten glanced back at the shadow which had vanished before laughing the situation off. 

“What are you talking about? I just see darkness, Johnny!” Ten walked closer to the older, the camera still pointed at his face. 

“I swear there was something close to you, it was practically somebody.” 

_He didn’t see it did he? He couldn’t, that’s impossible for humans._

Ten’s brain buzzed with questions of what just happened but continued to play off the situation as something for less than it was. The demon patted against the flannel shirt of his friend, dusting off nothing before shrugging his shoulders. 

“Ha, I’m sure it was just my shadow,” Ten spoke. “Unless. It really was a ghost! Or worse, a demon!” Ten did a whooshy movement with his hands before tugging on Johnny’s shirt in a teasing manner. 

“You’re not funny.” 

  
“I’m hilarious, actually.” 

Johnny couldn’t hold back his chuckle before switching off the spirit box and flickering his flashlight in the direction their stuff was. “Want to just head out? It’s only midnight, so I’m sure there are food trucks available around our apartment.” 

“I want tacos.” 

“So I’m paying?” 

  
The two smiled at each other in a silent acknowledgment of Johnny’s rhetorical question before grabbing the flashlights originally set up to talk with the entities. Afterwards walking in the direction of the older’s set-up monitors. 

As they reached the sight, Ten threw the strap of his bag around his shoulder before flashing the light down the hall again. Seeing a shadow, lighter than before still maintaining observation of them. 

_Dumb Watcher._

Ten stretched his torso with his hands above his head, a yawn forming as the last of the equipment was put in Johnny’s car. The two drove through the somewhat empty streets with only a few crowds of people outside of stores or clubs and food trucks decorating the streets. 

Though it was already decided, Johnny did pay for the two’s midnight snack of tacos with Ten making sure to get three instead of the regular two. 

“Wah, these are so good Johnny! Try mine.” Ten let out a satisfied hum while extending his taco to feed Johnny who was sitting on the curb beside him. Johnny squinted at the food before opening his mouth to take a bite, the demon simply watched the older’s expression scrunch in delight. It was endearing, moments like this were to be endeared for as long as Ten could rewind them. 

“That is crazy good,” Johnny swiped the salsa at the corner of his lip before licking it off. Ten quickly shifted his gaze back to his food, putting it down to sip the Sangria they were sharing. _Sharing. Sharing as humans do. Or like entities sometimes do, only if they were tam-_

“Ten do you still not believe in the supernatural?” Johnny broke the train of thought, biting into a chip as he stared at the younger. 

It took a moment for the demon to gather his thoughts, contemplating where the topic came from. “No, I don’t believe in such things I can’t see. Plus don’t ghosts come from the belief that there’s a midpoint between Hell and Heaven?”

“But isn’t that a separate thing?” 

“As an atheist, I’ve observed that humanity often portrays ghouls to need an exorcism to return to _Hell._ So I guess it doesn’t make sense for me to believe in ghosts.” 

“Well, I’m not that religious. I also don’t think that there _needs_ to be a Heaven and Hell for the supernatural to exist. Plus those are terms and places created by humanity, who knows if it’s anything like that.” 

_It’s nothing like that, though it would’ve been for better or worse if it was._

Ten shrugged before taking a final bite of his last taco, swiping his hands together to rid of any crumbs. “You have a point. To that, you’ll have to show me a ghost if you want me to believe in it.” 

The two cleaned their mess, discarding the waste into the trash bin, and recycling the empty Sangria bottle nearby. It was not a quarter past 1, and the sleep was beginning to seep into the weight of Ten’s eyelids. In the car Johnny silently drove with the radio turned low, Ten’s eye’s drifting close with the surrounding lights. 

It wouldn’t be till they arrived that Ten felt a hand shift his body, Johnny whispering _'W_ _e’re here’_ to single the shorter. Sometimes if the younger was out cold, his roommate would carry him upstairs. But they had equipment, so Ten arched his body to quickly stretch before unbuckling himself. 

They would stumble with their bags and equipment to the elevator, Ten’s drowsiness barely keeping him standing as they made their way back to apartment 127. 

Johnny opened the door, trailing into the storage room next to the kitchen to put away everything. On the other hand, Ten dropped his bag immediately alongside his kicked-off shoes before sauntering to their room. He could hear Johnny wash his hands in the kitchen, and for a second it occurred that he should change. 

Ten in a tired state was horrendous to control as is, so the demon simply took off his pants and kept his hoodie and shirt on. Crawling underneath the blankets of his twin bed and letting the sleep carry his consciousness asleep. 

_Three hours._

That’s all it took for a demon to sleep. Meaning that Ten would wake up around 5. Though he would sometimes force himself to sleep for longer, though if exceeded too much it would cause migraines. 

In the cold brisk of the morning, he would silently push the covers off and lean across the small gap between him and Johnny’s bed. The demon would raise a hand and hover over the temple available from the sleeping human. Sensations carried weight in the air, the heavier meant it was corrupt and an entity's energy seeped too close. 

There was never a moment where Ten sensed any corruption within Johnny, sometimes the clearness in his subconscious scared the demon. It acted protected, which to an extent was rare among humans. 

His hand floated close above Johnny’s forehead, Ten’s lids were closed to tunnel his focus. But there was no weight and no tension between the two roommates. A sigh escaped his lips and he opened his eyes again to peer at Johnny’s somewhat lit expression from the light beginning to spill through the curtains. 

Ten watched in amusement, wondering what dreams the human would have. As a demon, they were stripped of most human sensations which included dreams. That was the most dreadful to cope with during Ten’s first life, but after centuries he’s become accustomed to it. 

But in these moments, a familiarity would drape across the demon’s mind. A warm and protective aura which he only felt with the human. Reckless to feel such things, and if he had the ability Ten would’ve stopped those feelings with Johnny. 

But at this moment, Ten let his fingers softly brush away the strands of auburn hair from Johnny’s face. Tucking it back alongside the rest of his shaggy hair before continuing to watch silently. Johnny wouldn’t wake till another three hours. Ten pulled away in fear of stirring the older awake, letting his body retrain back against his own bed. Lying comfortably in the direction that still allowed him to watch his roommate. 

_God this is creepy probably._

Ten smiled into the silence before slipping his hand underneath his pillow, having looked to his roommate for another minute. The demon let his eyelids shut and tried to imagine a dream with Johnny. Though it was desperately useless, sometimes he would feel as if he were dreaming in these thoughts. Reality often slipped in before silent darkness would take over again. 

_I’ve become tamed, haven’t I?_

_Belonging. To become a tamed entity but to a mortal._

_How pathetic am I?_

**Author's Note:**

> twt: @/RANP0T3N
> 
> I always appreciate feedback!


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